Free Blue Collar and Proud of It: The All-In-One Resource for Finding Freedom, Financial Success, and Security Outside the Cubicle by Joe Lamacchia, Bridget Samburg

the desire to be in a physically demanding job. The ability to solve arithmetic problems quickly and accurately is also necessary. The bottom line is that you’ve got to love to build and love what it takes to build.
    Work Setting
    As is true of other building trades, carpentry can be strenuous. Prolonged standing, climbing, bending, and kneeling are just part of the gig. Carpenters do risk injury working with sharp or roughmaterials, as well as tools and power equipment, but safety precautions can prevent most injuries.Outdoor carpentrymeans being in freezing temperatures some months and sweltering heat at other times of the year.
    Training and Certification
    Carpenters learn their trade through formal and informal training programs. Typically, three to four years of on-the-job training and class-roominstruction are needed to become a skilled carpenter. A number of ways to train are available, including job shadowing, but a more formal training program often improves job prospects.
    You can really start your carpentry training in high school.Classes in English, algebra, geometry, physics, mechanical drawing, blueprint reading, and general shop prepare students for the trade. After high school, some people get a job as a carpenter’s helper, assisting someone who is more experienced. While working as a helper you can simultaneously attend a trade school or community college to receivemore formal training. Some employers offer employees formal apprenticeships, which combine on-the-job training with related classroom instruction.
    On the job, apprentices learn elementary structural design and become familiar with common carpentry jobs, framing, and finish work. They also learn to use the tools, machines, equipment, and materials of the trade. In the classroom, apprentices learn safety, blueprint reading, freehand sketching, and various carpentry techniques. Both in the class-roomand on the job, they learn the relationship between carpentry and the other building trades. Carpenters work closely with other building tradespeople, and while it’s not necessary to have their skills, understanding how aspects such as carpentry, electrical work, and plumbing come together to complete a project is helpful.
    The Numbers
    Carpentry is the largest sector of the building trades, and in 2006 there were 1.5million carpenters employed around the country. About 32 percent worked in the construction of buildings, and the same percentage was self-employed. Employment is expected to increase by 10 percent by 2016, whichmeans another 150, 000 jobs.The increase is expected largely based on the crumbling infrastructure in the United States and the need for new bridges, roads, and tunnels. Some jobs are expected to become available because of retiring workers.

CONSTRUCTION: HEAVY EQUIPMENT TECHNICIANS AND MECHANICS
    Working construction is one of themost physically demanding things you can do. It’s about hard hats and hard work. (And you wondered if people would think you were a slacker? ) But thanks to modern equipment andmachinery that does the heavy lifting for you, there are plenty of opportunities for those of us who aren’t looking to haul hundreds of pounds at once.
    Have you seen the television show L. A.HardHats ? I can’t get enough of it.On theNational Geographic Channel it chronicles the construction of major metropolitan area buildings. It’s so cool to watch these buildings get put together, particularly when you see that it all starts from nothing. We’ll give you a sense of two different categories of construction workers, although there are indeed more. First we look at heavy vehicle and equipment technicians and mechanics. The next section addresses laborers.
    The Work
    Heavy vehicles are essential to many industrial projects, from construction to railroads. Various types of equipment move materials, till land, lift beams, and dig earth to pave the way for development and production. Heavy equipment technicians andmechanics